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A. P. COCHRANE.

Patented De0. 30, 1919.

2 SHEETS-SHEET l- A. P. COCHRANE.

BOX 0R CRATE FRAME.

APPLICATION FILED AUG.6. 19H.

Patented Dec. 30, 1919.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2- UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

ALBERT PAUL COCHRANE, OF BROOKLYN, NEW YORK, ASSIGNOR TO HERVEY, BARBERv & MGKEE, OF NEW YORK, N. Y., A FIRM COMPOSED OF EVERETT P. HERVEY,ARTHUR WILLIAM BARBER, AND LANIER MoKEE.

BOX OR CRATE FRAME.

Application filed August 6, 1917.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, ALBERT PAUL Coon- BANE, a citizen of the UnitedStates, and resident of the borough of Brooklyn, in the county of Kingsand city and State of New York, have invented a new and useful Box orCrate Frame, of which the following is a specification.

The object of this invention is to provide a box or crate frame composedof separate elements forming the uprights and longitudinal andtransverse top and bottom members which may be rigidly fastened andbraced at the apical corners to form a framework, which may receivesuitable panels to form a container, or which may be assembled as areinforcement around a complete box. This is accomplished by thecombination of angle iron elements, the flanges of each of which formportions of two sides of a rectangular parallelepiped and which areinterlocked at the ends, and clamping corner fastenings, each of whichunites the ends of three irons at one of the apical corners.

In the accompanying drawings:

Figure 1 is a view, partly in side elevation and partly broken away andsectioned, of a container constituted by such a frame-work, with panelsfilling the open sides, and one of the corner fastenings removed. It isto be understood that the connection screw shown in the upper right-handcorner of this view is oblique and not parallel to the plane of thepaper;

Fig. 2 is a perspective view of one of the corners without the fastener;

Fig. 3 is a plan of the same corner;

Fig. 1 is a side view thereof;

Figs. 5, 6 and 7 are plan views of blank ends corresponding to thecorner joints of the preceding views; and

Fig. 8 is a perspective view of a different form of corner joint.

The frame comprises four uprights 2, four longitudinal members 3, twoeach at top and bottom, and four transverse or end members 4. Each ofthese members is an angle iron, or a strip of sheet metal bentlongitudinally to form two flanges at right angles to each other. Thus,as shown, the flanges of each element lie in the planes of two sides ofa rectangular parallelepiped, or over- Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Dec. 30, 1919.

Serial No. 184,582.

lie two faces of such a figure included within them. a

The ends of three of these elements meet at each apical corner when theframe-work is erected, and are there held and braced by cornerfastenings 5. In the preferred form these fastenings comprise each apyramidal or virtually pyramidal cap 6, an inner member 7 formed to fitthe internal corner, and a connection 8 disposed diagonally andcentrally with respect to the solid angle of the parallelepiped, so asto draw the inner and outer member equally against the three meetingmembers. The said connections may be screw stems projecting outward fromthe inner members 7 centrally of the solid angles of the parallelepiped,and passing through openings in the apices of the caps 6, outside ofwhich they are engaged by nuts 9, by turning of whichthe parts areclamped together. These nuts may be formed as rounded skidding bosses,as shown. Fastenings of this type, though of specifically differentconstruction, are used in a different combination in my Patent No.1,195,908, of August 22, 1916, and the particular form shown herein isincluded in my Patent 1,264,015, of April 23, 1918.

Fasteningsof still other types may be employed.

The meeting ends of the angle iron ele ments are cut to presentinterfitting tongues and recesses, thereby causing the meeting flangesto lie in the same plane and securing the advantage of an interlockwhich keeps the irons from pulling apart. The particular shape of theformations may be widely varied. Figs. 2 to 7 show one of the possibleconstructions, wherein the flanges at the end of the member 3 are cut topresent two wings 11 projecting laterally from the center ridge, thesewings being triangular at the base and circular at the ends; theadjoining end of member 4 has a recess 12 in oneflange corresponding toone of said wings, and the end of its other flange cut off at 13,leaving an oblique edge and a curved edge; the upper end of member 2 hasa recess 1% in one flange receiving the other of the wings 11, and alateral notch 15 in its other flange fitting the formation 13. In such aconstruction, it will be ob served that the ends of the several membersare all different, which is a useful guide in assembling. In the simplerconstruction of Fig. 8 the ends are alike, one flange of each having alongitudinal tongue 16 and a lateral recess 17, the tongues and recessescorrespondil'lg to each other and fitting as shown.

A container of crate can be formed from the frame-Work, by insertingsuitable panels in the sides within the angle irons, which panels may besolid or not as desired. Preferably the panels are clamped between theinner members 7 and the interlocking flanges of the angle irons, asshown.

What I claim as new is:

1. A boX or crate frame comprising separate angle irons havinginterlocking forlocks with the other two, and a common clamping fastenerfor holding the three ends in the interlocking relation.

3. A box or crate frame comprising sep arate angle irons forming theuprights and longitudinal and transverse top and bottom members of theframe-work, the ends of said irons meeting at the apical corners havingtheir flanges cut with interlocking tongues and recesses keeping themfrom pulling apart, and clamping fastenings for the apical corners eachcomprising a corner cap and an inner member and a connection extendingdiagonally through the corner, whereby the members are held in theinterlocking relation.

4. A box or crate frame comprising the combination of separate angleirons constituting the frame elements, said elements having interlockingformat-ions at their ends, apical corner clamping fasteners, eachholding the ends of three irons in the interlocking relation andcomprising inner and outer portions and a diagonal connection, andpanels also held by said fasteners.

ALBERT PAUL COCHRANE.

